Water was surging Monday afternoon through an Uptown neighborhood after a water-main break near a drainage project on Louisiana Avenue.

Crews were sent to make repairs, but not before cars were at least a foot deep in water and traffic was being diverted.

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"The water was deep as a river," said Arthur Chapa, who lives on Coliseum Street.

"I went to get lunch, and when I came back the cars were backing down the street because they couldn't get down the street because the water was ... basically a river," Carlie Aucoin-Wilson said.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineer spokesperson said a construction crew was working on the large-scale SELA drainage project when workers hit an underground 12-inch water main.

"I was calling patients saying, 'What kind of car are you driving? Our streets from our driveway down to Louisiana is flooded,' and I had to reschedule patients," Aucoin-Wilson said.

The crew worked to repair the water main break quickly. The Sewerage and Water Board received a report of possible sewage leaking in the area. An employee who investigated said there were no broken sewer lines.

Though the water went down throughout the afternoon, water lines were visible on the tires of cars. Residents said the standing water is something with which they are dealing more frequently.

"It's always water trapped right here, like on a usual basis," Chapa said.

Though the construction crew had someone directing traffic, neighbors said they're often left telling cars to steer clear.

"Which is dangerous in itself because some people will be turning into the street, which is a one-way street, and you could have a head-on collision," said Jonathan Barnes, who works on Coliseum Street.

Residents have made calls to the city to report the poor drainage in the area and said it gets bad every time it rains.

"There is a drain almost by the corner of Louisiana that is clogged solid," Aucoin-Wilson said. "It would be nice to not have to worry about when it drizzles is my car going to get water in it."

A city spokesperson said officials are aware of the problem, and city crews cleaned catch basins in the area last week. The city said it continues to coordinate with the Sewerage and Water Board and the Army Corps of Engineers to address any issues near the SELA construction along Jefferson, Napoleon and Louisiana avenues.

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